Sergeant Troy Tolman does a security walk through the cell block June 23, 2017, at the Jerome County Jail in Jerome. Jerome County is working to finalize a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to lease them 50 beds to house people arrested for immigration violations.

As suitors line up, Jerome County officials weigh pros and cons of jail bed rental options

Sergeant Troy Tolman does a security walk through the cell block June 23, 2017, at the Jerome County Jail in Jerome. Jerome County is working to finalize a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to lease them 50 beds to house people arrested for immigration violations.

JEROME — As Jerome County officials weigh the pros and cons of leasing excess jail beds to interested agencies, two out of three commissioners say they would prefer to avoid a controversial deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement if possible.

The U.S. Marshals Service and Idaho Department of Corrections have emerged as potential lessees in recent weeks, as the county approaches one year of waiting on a fiercely protested contract to rent 50 beds to ICE.

Meanwhile, ICE has expressed renewed interest in a contract after the Times-News reported last month that the county was considering other options, according to Sheriff Doug McFall.

But that interest may not be mutual for all county officials. Commissioners Charlie Howell and Roger Morley say a deal with ICE would be their last choice if presented with proposals from all three agencies.

Commissioner Cathy Roemer maintains that she would need to see the final terms and conditions of any and all contracts before forming a preference.

“Basically for me it comes down to, how would the taxpayer want us to do this?” Roemer said at a Tuesday meeting with McFall and Security Services Commander Maricela Ibarra.

ICE and the Marshals are expected to pay comparable rates of around $75 per bed per day. The state’s official rate is $45, although there is potential for the state legislature to bump that number up to as high as $60 this year.

“For me, the goal is to create more revenue if we can, if it fits the program,” Roemer clarified in a post-meeting interview. “I think the taxpayers expect that of us as a business organization.”

Morley disputes the idea that money should be a top priority when making a decision.

“The economic factors, really, to me, it’s not truly economics,” Morley said after Tuesday’s meeting. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be able to make our jail pay. It’s not a paying facility. It’s not a business.”

If given a choice, Morley said he would choose the Marshals first and the state second.

“For ICE to set up a major presence here would be tenuous at best,” Morley said, noting that one-third of county residents identify as Hispanic or Latino. “It’s scaring the hell out of our population here in Jerome.”

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On Dec. 20, Morley reached out to representatives from the Marshals Service — who he described as “real excited” at the prospect of renting bed space — before turning official communication over to the Sheriff’s Office.

Despite the lower potential for revenue, Howell still favors a contract with IDOC to take overflow from state prisons.

“Even from a business stance, we always have preferred customers,” Howell said. “I’d rather take locals first.”

One obstacle standing in the way of a deal with IDOC: concern that the jail isn’t properly staffed or built to handle a large population of state inmates, who are thought to be harder to control than county prisoners or ICE detainees. Those concerns could be alleviated somewhat if the county is given greater control over which inmates it takes, an idea that IDOC director Henry Atencio has indicated he may be open to, McFall said Tuesday.

If the county can avoid housing “problem inmates,” Morley said, he has “no problem at all” with renting to the state.

And while his preference wouldn’t be to lease to ICE, he isn’t ruling the possibility out entirely.

“I’ve got an obligation to my citizens here to pay the jail off,” Morley said. “If I have to pay it off with immigration money, well, that’s the way it’ll have to be. But I’ll tell you right now, I would rather we pay our jail off in a hundred different other ways.”

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(4) comments

1/3 of the population that identifies as Latino or Hispanic are scared to death says Mr. Morley? Really, if they are not here illegally why would they be afraid? The answer is those legal citizens are NOT afraid. There is a sub group that are illegal who the liberals and Dems have tried to characterize as immigrants rather than alien. They ARE illegal, which for the dairy leaders who promote their presence and the breaking of laws are responsible. Of this sub group illegal minority some are Criminal! These are the ones that murder, rob, rape, steal and commit drunken driving crimes against the society. This sub group of Illegal Criminal Aliens are the ones that ICE would have contact with. The ones that threaten everyone including fellow Hispanic and Latinos. Not to mention that Criminal Illegal Aliens do not have to just be Hispanic/Latino, they come in all colors, Black, Yellow and White. They can be from Korea, Africa, Canada or Ireland and all places in between. The real guilt belongs to the dairy industry who promote and encourage lawless entry into the country. The Hispanics that work on the dairies often have third world living standards when not working and off the job. They don't have health insurance so the community pays their hospital bills, not the dairies, not to mention most other social subsidies. If you compare their work environment (the so called work other people won't do) and their standards of living you could really compare them to the treatment of blacks before the days of civil rights. They are modern day slaves to which reparations will eventually be owed. Now Mr. Kaufman thinks that Jerome taxpayers deserve less for their commitment to build a jail by renting to the State of Idaho instead of ICE for $30 dollars less per day? The State is not the 'local' boys as Mr. Howell portrays, and both seem to have private motives for their positions. One, to be a hero legislator at the state level and the other to dodge doing the right thing according to the LAW and the local taxpayers who pay for the jail and their State and County salaries.

I agree completely Uncle Sam!What they are really saying is we want to protect Illegal Aliens. There's no reason whatsoever for anyone here legally to be afraid of ICE. The Dairy Farmers got the County of Jerome in their hip pockets. Isn't it more likely the State would want to ship their problem's out to be housed than their good prisoners? I wrote a piece here in the blog comparing how the illegals are treated to modern day slavery. I can did that up. Of course the Antifa people roasted me alive. The Dairy Business have their hooks deep in our County Govt's. through money donated for re election and such. It's Jerome's Jail and there's to do with as they wish but their reasons are about everything than they've said. They don't want to do whats right for Federal Law or the Taxpayer. This area is looking more like California all the time unless the people step in.

ICE will be coming weather Jerome rents Jail space or not. They are going to turn this place upside down when they do. It isn't enough just to arrest the Illegals, the people who hire them and the people enable them, protect them and obstruct ICE need to be arrested too. The people voted in the last General to have the immigration laws enforced; everyone knows that and anyone contributing to it needs arrested too.

It's probably just as well really. ICE is coming and when they do they will bring enough buses to load a great number. Then they will start south to a holding facility out of the area and we will be done with them.

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